


Hidden Gem

by Aithilin



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Bookstores, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-06-04
Packaged: 2019-05-18 03:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14844834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aithilin/pseuds/Aithilin
Summary: Gladio thought he knew every bookstore in the city and every item of stock it had to offer.





	Hidden Gem

**Author's Note:**

> A little fluffy bonus for the end of Gladio Fluff Week over at Tumblr.

Most of the bookstores in Insomnia were the big ones— tied to publishing houses and markets that had some economic success in the experiment that was the isolationist city. Most of the bookstores took up entire floors of the department stores, the vertical malls that competed with each other on dramatic advertising rather than variety in offerings. There were the smaller shops, here and there, dotted throughout the city blocks or buried deep in the layers and surviving on a quaint sense of nostalgia alone. 

Gladiolus knew his favourites by now. He knew each library within walking distance of the Citadel and the Amicitia estate. He knew each big retailer that had branched out to cafes and toys and “lifestyle” gifts within the same area. He had favourites among the smaller shops— the ones buried beneath districts and out of the way, the ones that had to be mapped out or stumbled across to be found. He had three along his morning running route that had attached themselves to coffee shops and bakeries, where he could stop and browse before he picked up a breakfast to take back to the apartment. 

“Where are we going?”

It was rare for Noctis to know something he didn’t know too. Rarer still for Noctis to know a piece of the city that Gladio hadn’t been to first. 

“You’ll see, big guy.”

It was rare for Gladio to not recognise the signs of a section of city. Or the turns, or the way the taller buildings seemed to close in around them. As if they were exploring some dark ravine rather than turning off the usual highways. 

It was rare enough for Gladio to feel nervous about what Noctis was up to. 

The Star was pulled and settled into a parking lot on the edge of the “nice” area of town, secured away from the drizzle that had started before they even left sight of the Citadel. “It shouldn’t be too far from here.”

“It’s raining.”

“So?” When Noctis wanted to keep a surprise to himself, Gladio knew that he could be infuriating. “When has that ever stopped you?”

“If I’m getting wet for some damned arcade—”

“You’ll love it.”

Noctis knew sections of the city from one arcade to the next— he knew where the best snacks were, and the best comics that would always have a subscription plan or a pre-order system he liked. He knew where the most interesting events were going to happen, and which theatres would let him and Prompto use the side doors if they needed them. But Gladio had only ever seen Noctis step foot in the big book stores— the ones that catered to the widest possible audience, the largest demographic spread out across its district. 

This place was small. It was small and crowded and tucked away between two shops flying Galahdian clan banners and advertising their wares on narrow tables outside crowded windows. This shop was filled with shelves and stacks, narrow places they had to be careful not to topple. 

“What is this?”

The smell of musty, used books was undercut with some bitter coffee back in the more open section of the shop. 

Noctic moved through the narrow labyrinth far easier than he did. “Your birthday present.”

“Bit late for that.”

“But this is better.” Noctis clapped a hand against his arm; “No limit except the actual store itself. I’ll sit nice and safe on the couches in the back until you’re done.”

Gladio barely heard him after the promise of no limit to his time in the shop— he would clarify later if that was what Noctis was willing to spend on him, or in time spent in the shop, navigating the narrow passages. He nodded a vague understanding as Noctis disappeared, and he could let himself be absorbed by the distraction the shelf he was facing proved. 

Most of the books stacked together were variations of the same— a selection of editions discarded by previous owners. Handwritten labels lined most of the shelves, promises of more shelves nearby, headings for genres, for subjects. Gladio let his hands trail over the thick books in the history section, narrowed his focus on the military history, smiled at the familiar editions that lined his own father’s library, but in much worse condition here. Goldleaf accents had faded away from some of the spines, leaving the imprint on the hard backing without the shine of the decoration to make the titles legible. The gilded edges of some volumes flaked and curled from the moisture that could seep in through the old building. History, language, biology, theories of magic— Gladio let his hands wander over the less familiar titles, recognising the newest, best condition books as the discarded textbooks from whatever university was nearest. 

He had only taken a handful of steps near the door. 

As he wandered— through fiction arranged by genre, then author, then year published— he caught a glimpse of Noctis in the wider, more open lounging space. He had a bottle of something in hand, and had curled up like a cat with a stack of comics that seemed to be on offer. He was fine, and Gladio let himself be pulled back into the sea of used paperbacks written by authors he had never heard of and on subjects he had never considered. 

When he resurfaced again, it was with an armful of books. Ones that had caught his eye on premise alone, a few that had been written on subjects he had taken an interest in, and each one with a business card of the shop ticked between the first few pages. 

He felt his stomach clench at the smile Noctis offered him as he approached. He felt like a damned teenager again, having fallen in love for the first time— though with the store or his actual boyfriend currently unfurling himself from the overstuffed sofa, he couldn’t say. 

“You good?”

“For now.” He almost laughed at the face Noctis made as he tried to catch the titles in his arms. “There’s a good selection here.”

Noctis got him a bag from the counter and paid, stepping bag into the rain with Gladio on his heel. 

They would spend the afternoon sprawled across the sofa in Noctis’ apartment, listening to the rain on the balcony tapping away the hours. They would stay like that— Gladio settled with Noctis tucked against him, the first of the new books opened in his hands as Noctis dozed or explored some manufactured game world— until the whirlwind that was Ignis would sweep in with whatever plans for dinner they had forgotten to make. 

But for now, out here where the rain was threatening to soak them through, Gladio risked a quick kiss to Noctis before following his back to where the Star was parked. “Thank you.”

“Any time, Gladio.”


End file.
